MyPillow CEO Lindell’s Lawyer Leaves Firm Day After Filing Suit

(Bloomberg Law) -- Barnes & Thornburg partner Alec Beck has left the firm, one day after he filed a lawsuit for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell against electronic voting companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic.

Beck, a labor and employment lawyer in Minnesota, wasn’t authorized to file the suit, the firm said in a statement provided to Bloomberg Law. The suit alleges that the companies are weaponizing litigation to silence Lindell’s claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

“Late last night, firm management became aware of the filing of the complaint which was done without receiving firm authorization pursuant to internal firm approval procedures,” the statement said. “The firm has withdrawn as local counsel in this matter and has ended the client relationship.”

Lindell’s complaint in a Minnesota federal court, which is peppered with quotes from George Orwell’s classic novel, “1984,” alleges that the companies sued Lindell earlier this year to try to intimidate him. Lindell has repeatedly claimed that security flaws in Dominion and Smartmatic electric voting machines influenced the outcome of the election.

Dominion sued Lindell in February seeking $1.3 billion in damages, alleging he knowingly made false accusations that the company helped rig the election for President Joe Biden. In April, MyPillow fired back with a $1.6 million suit claiming Dominion was stifling his free speech.

Beck did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday on his exit from the firm. Douglas Daniels of Daniels & Tredennick in Houston, whose name was also on the complaint, said in an email he didn’t know the circumstances of Beck’s exit. Daniels said Beck remains local counsel on the case.

Beck, whose bio was no longer available on the Barnes & Thornburg website late Friday, joined the firm in late 2019, according to a statement. He was touted as having more than 30 years of labor and employment law experience, including appearing before state and federal courts and administrative agencies like the National Labor Relations Board and the Labor Department.

Beck’s other clients have included Inspire Brands, KinderCare Corporation and a Radisson Hotel at the Mall of America, according to a search of Bloomberg Law dockets.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rebekah Mintzer in New York at rmintzer@bloomberglaw.com
To contact the editor on this story: Chris Opfer in New York at copfer@bloomberglaw.com

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